The redhead lady
by Amanda Southgate
Summary: Catelyn Tully's wedding. This fic will have three chapters. All the rights are reserved on G. Martin.
1. Chapter 1

The redhead Lady.

"_No, don't, don't cut my hair, Ned loves my hair_" she thought before her death. Death makes us equals, no more differences, no more secrets; death joins us all in a peace ceremony.

She remembered that day, her wedding day. How afraid she was, because of the traditions, the bedding ceremony. She was shy, as any other virgin young girl but she knew that men would try to touch her, to tear her clothes. She was weak, she was a lady. "These stupid traditions should have an end" she thought to herself. She barely knew her future Lord husband, Eddard Stark, and in some hours he would know all the little parts of her body. That made her feels nauseous. "I will be used as a piece of cloth without any value… This is so humiliating…"

First, she would be Brandom Stark's wife. Then he died and she thought she would be free of this curse. But life seemed to be sour with her and put another Stark man in her life: Eddard Stark.

"He is a good man, he is a Stark. Very honored man… A brave warrior…" these were the most common phrases about that unknown man she was about to marry in few hours. She had never seen his face before, she had never met him. If he was young, old, handsome, ugly, strong, weak, she couldn't know. This lack of information was terrible for her.

And, to complete that horror festival, she was going to pass through the bedding ceremony. Maybe she should have accepted Petyr's propose. Maybe she should have ran away and married him against everyone's will. But maybe was a word in her past. Now, she was going to marry the unknown Stark man.

She wore a pale pink dress and her hair now was in the shape of a long flame red braid. She had already snapped her fingers a thousand times and she was not in the temple yet. "Everything is going to be alright. The bedding ceremony is fast, humiliating and disgusting, but fast…" She said to herself.

She came down from her carriage and walked slowly into the big, old and cold temple. She felt the cool wind caressing her cheeks and chest. "People say Winterfell is always cold… Am I going to enjoy it?" She hadn't realized yet that nobody cared about her opinion. Women didn't have opinion, didn't have the right to think. "Damn" she said when she stumbled on a leader. "Be careful, Catelyn. Your future husband wants you alive…" Edmure joked. She glanced at his face so very angrily, and it was much painful than a punch.

She snapped her little finger and watched it, remembering her memories from a distant past. "Oh, Petyr… If you could save me from this hell… If I had accepted. At least I knew you, and you would never hurt me…"

She stopped by the big wooden door, huge and heavy. She closed her eyes tightly to hide a little tear. "Oh, gods…" A cool chill came up inside her belly, and butterflies seemed to be having a fight inside her stomach. Her cheeks were in fire, her hands sweating. All her senses were crazy and her heart was about to explode.

The doors opened and a bright light blinded her vision for some seconds.

(Next chapter will be uploaded tomorrow 29/08)


	2. Chapter 2

II

All the guests looked excited and she could hear the comments about her. A veil hid her face and her rosy cheeks. There, on the altar, she saw a long navy blue cloak. She saw a flag with a direwolf in it and easily she recognized the Stark's symbol. She couldn't see Eddard Stark properly, because of the veil on her face, which made her vision a little blurry.

Tremulous, she approached and now she was in front of her future Lord husband. She looked down to avoid eye contact, for fear or any other feeling. He gently lifted the veil and let it down on her head. She kept looking down, frozen, scared, shy. He gently lifted her face and she could watch his cold gray eyes. She remembered the wind caressing her skin when she was getting down the carriage, how tender, soft and chill it was. She could almost feel that wind again, just by watching his eyes. In his gray eyes she found (somehow) herself safe and comfortable. _Winterfell must be exactly like him: chill, secure, safe. It must be a sweet escape…_

She kept watching him, with her eyes wide open and he outlined a thin smile. She smiled back and the ceremony continued as it should.

She hadn't heard his voice yet and she was anxious to hear it. She knew he should pronounce the vow soon, and she expected for the moment.

The moment came and she could once more watch his eyes. He took her hand and looked deeply inside her eyes, as he could read her mind and see her soul. His voice sounded like a velvety, deep and staid sound. "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers and she is mine, from this day to the end of my days"

Her voice was thin, soft and secure "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his and he is mine, from this day to the end of my days"

Now, it was done.

After the ceremony, she did not open her mouth, except to drink wine. Everybody was drinking and eating as pigs and all of that disgusted her. Her now Lord Husband ate a little, laughed a little, drank a little and once in a while he seemed to try an approach and talk to her. He watched him by his reflection on her golden goblet. Sometimes she had the impression he could see her watching him. She thought to herself _"I should try to talk to him… Yes, I should…_" She should try to seem everything except afraid, or insecure, or childish. After all, he was a man, yet she was just a girl…

"Is Winterfell very different from my homeland?" _What the hell was she thinking about? What kind of question was that_?

He put his goblet on the table and pronounced "It is colder_" It is colder? How nice… I would never think that WINTERfell is a cold place. Damn_. "But with the time you learn how to appreciate the cold temperatures. It is not so bad" he said touching the goblet.

"Oh please don't think that I meant it was a bad place. It is just… A new place for me, and as I had never been there before I do not know what expect" she apologize fast.

"It is normal to be curious about the unknown. Many men are afraid of it, you on the other hand, seem to challenge it. It is a virtue" he said.

"My father used to say that the best way to defeat an enemy is to know him very well. Maybe it is a good way to defeat our fears as well" she said smiling.

"And what are you afraid of, Lady Catelyn?" he asked curious.

"I am afraid of many things. I just try to hide them from people. In this very moment, Lord Eddark Stark, I am feeling afraid" she let it scape and regret about what she had just said "I am sorry, I just not bother you with my silly fears…"

"Well, but you are brave enough to face your fears. Why are you afraid?" he insisted.

"Lord Eddard, even when we are brave enough to face our fears, it doesn't mean we can defeat them. Maybe it is easier to accept it, when you cannot avoid the suffering and the humiliation…" she said sadly.

"But what is it?" he insisted.

"The bedding ceremony is what terrifies more in this moment" she told him, glancing her hands. She felt like a million pounds were taken off her shoulders. "I understand the tradition, but I don't agree with it" she said finally "But do not worry your heart about it, Lord Eddard. It will be fast and…" She felt tears blooming on her eyes "There is nothing I can do to avoid it anyway" she said cleaning it and smiling at him.

And the moment came: a man, drunk as hell screamed "IT IS TIME TO TAKE THEM BED, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! LET'S CONSUME THIS WEDDING! TAKE THE GROOM, TAKE THE BRIDE"

She looked down and said to herself "_Gods, please, make it fast_". She could hear the screams and laughs coming from those dirty mouths. Their dirty hands warming up to tear up her clothes; and their tongues humidifying their lips_. Ugh_!

But a strong thunder voiced echoed in the saloon "There will be no bedding ceremony". Eddard Stark was stood up and he seemed very calm. A silence paired on the saloon. She was astonished and she felt light as all her fear were heavy and now they were falling down, making her soar. She glanced at him, feeling a warm thing burning her inside.

An old man, bald and thin tried to argue, disappointed and furious "What do you mean? I don't want to participate of a wedding without a…"

"And I don't want to break anyone's jaw" he said in a sober and firm voice. He turned back to her and offered her his hand. She, enchanted and absolutely happy, gave him her hand and followed him to his chamber.


	3. Chapter 3

III

Catelyn entered in a cold, gray room, following her Lord husband who had just avoided her big suffering. She was so glad, thankful, yet so scared. She wanted to say something, but all the words seemed to have flown away from her memory. His breathing was so calm it was almost anguishing for her. She walked a few steps to the window and watched the night sky so very blessed with stars. She waited for any signal, something that could show her what to do, she waited for him to approach and do something. Yet she was completely freaked out, she didn't demonstrate so. But he didn't. She turned around and she saw Eddard Stark drinking some wine on a chair.

"Why did you do that?" she questioned "You didn't have to help me".

"You are welcome" he said with a tiny smile.

"I am sorry, I didn't want to be rude. I just… I wasn't expecting something like that"

"You said you didn't want to pass through that and I personally think this ceremony is ridiculous. Why to obligate a young Lady to be touched by all those drunken stinky men?" he said.

"You were kind" she whispered "Thank you"

He offered her some wine, and she accepted and they talked about Winterfell, childhood and the war.

But there was something missing, something should happen during that night. She was wondering why he didn't mention anything like that. She discovered that Ned was very reserved but they shared the same priorities, they have a lot of things in common. But nothing about that thing and that was bothering her. She wanted to do her obligation and after that, talk about good things, because she kind of knew that was going to be horrible.

"Have you met many women, Ned?" she asked.

"Some" he answered.

"Some is a good number, I imagine" she commented.

"Numbers don't mean quality" Ned replied.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure"  
"When it happens, you know, the thing we must do, please, when it finished, could you keep being friendly with me? I know generally men treat women as they are nothing, but as you are different… Maybe you could…"

"What makes you think I will be unfriendly with you?" He asked "You don't have to worry, I will never do anything with you if you don't feel like doing"

"You mean… Anything?"

"Anything"

"What if I never want to share a bed with you?"

"Then, I will sleep on the floor" he said drinking more wine.

She bite her under lip and she smiled "You are different…"  
"No. I am Stark" he laughed.

She allowed herself to look right inside his gray eyes "What if I want to?"

He approached looking inside her eyes, both of them traveling through each other's colors. "Then I would make you the happiest woman in the world"

"Make me" she whispered before his mouth found hers.

Out of the room, was cold and dark. Out of the room, there was a war. Out of the room, there was an army.

In the room, was warm and peaceful. In the room, there was a man and a woman. In the room, there was love.

She didn't feel embarrassed when he saw her body uncovered. She didn't feel embarrassed to touch, to see, to feel. She almost didn't feel pain, because everything seemed to be so natural, so common, and she wanted him so bad.

"Are you ok?" he asked in the first moment. His worry about her touched the deepest of her heart. _He cares… He cares_…

She nodded and kissed him. Her whole body was seizes by an immense and furious fire, burning all her inside and outside, the air could no fill her lungs and she closed her eyes tightly. She felt this sensation four times. In the last one, her husband was caressing her hair, and he pulled it, moaning almost inaudibly.

When it finished, they talked about Winterfell, families and the war.

When the sun rose, he had to leave. He kissed her forehead and she asked him to stay five minutes else. When these minutes passed, she felt her eyes burning. "Don't worry my child. I will be back". He held her and kissed her "I love you"

That was so unexpected. She cried even more and pronounced "I love you too". And he was gone.

But now, everything was gone. Ned, Arya, Bran, Robb… Everything now was empty and cold.


End file.
